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Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)

This paper is an examination of the 1996 film, Welcome to the Dollhouse, produced, written, and directed by Todd Solondz. The film stars Heather Matarazzo as Dawn "Weinerdog" Weiner, an awkward seventh-grader confronting the hazards and horrors of junior high school. Solondz uses a variety of effective cinematic techniques to emphasize Dawn's sense of isolation and unfairness, from a selective use of closeups to powerful music and sound cues. He keeps the film focused almost completely on Dawn, moving away from her just four times, each for a solid structural reason. The result is a powerful and entertaining portrait of the agonies of adolescence.

Dawn Weiner is a gawky, unpopular student, nicknamed "Weinerdog" (her fellow students have even spray-painted the name across the top of her locker). Her only real friend is the even gawkier Ralphy, who is still in sixth grade and is not relishing the experience of junior high school which he sees Dawn confronting as the film begins. Even the adults in her world are impatient and annoyed with her, affording her little sympathy or even consideration. Her mother sends her to her room for daring to yell at her perfect-ballerina little sister, Missy. Her teacher gives her detention and a failing grade on a test for turning in the class bully who is trying to copy her answers.

Solondz stacks the deck against his heroine. She is not particularly bright, plays the piano badly, sings off-key, and is the object of scorn and derision whenever anyone pays attention to her at all. Yet Dawn remains oddly appealing, because Solondz has made her stand for every teenager who ever felt unattractive, unloved, and ignored. Since this includes almost every member of the audience, Solondz gains sympathy for Dawn from the viewers even when she cannot gain much from those around her. Although Matarazzo is as physically awkward and unlovely as the role requires, she nevertheless brings out an in...

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Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996). (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:18, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692038.html